Ex-investment banker is Cupid for City singles December 3, 2012 LONELY City hearts searching for love this Christmas, look no further than ex-investment banker Salima Manji to play Cupid and gently tug on the heartstrings. Having worked at JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and the now-defunct Dresdner Kleinwort, Manji left the City to set up a matchmaking supper club for singles, the London Dinner Club, and [...]
Paralympian David Weir given Freedom of the City of London December 3, 2012 PARALYMPIAN David Weir was awarded the Freedom of the City of London yesterday in a ceremony at the Guildhall. Weir, a winner of six gold medals, is in fine company with recent holders of the Freedom of the City of London having included author JK Rowling, chef Raymond Blanc and actress Joanna Lumley. The City [...]
Rowland and Lewis set to see Icelandic float December 3, 2012 ICELAND’S MP Bank, which is part owned by Tottenham Hotspur owner Joe Lewis and Tory donor David Rowland, yesterday confirmed it was exploring plans to float on the Icelandic stock market in 2014. The Icelandic investment bank, which operates in asset management and M&A advisory, is gearing up for a float on the Nasdaq OMX, [...]
HS2 critics tell court coalition’s decision to build was flawed December 3, 2012 OPPONENTS of the controversial High Speed 2 (HS2) rail link yesterday kicked off a major legal challenge, in an attempt to force the government to think again about the £34bn project. Lawyers for a group of local authorities, called 51m, told the High Court that the government has not properly consulted on the benefits and [...]
HSBC promotes strategy boss to wealth management head December 3, 2012 HSBC said its strategy and planning boss John Flint is to take over as head of retail banking and wealth management (RBWM) next year to replace veteran banker Paul Thurston, who is retiring. The bank said Flint will become chief executive of the wealth management unit on 1 January, one of the bank’s four global [...]
Paragon eyes bank licence to boost lending December 3, 2012 MORTGAGE provider Paragon, a buy-to-let specialist, has confirmed it is talks to buy Hampshire Trust, a private bank offering, in a bid at gaining a retail banking licence. Paragon yesterday said it was in exclusive talks to buy the business, which offers funding to property developers and solicitors, from the National Counties Building Society. The [...]
Guardian owner seeks sale of Auto Trader to plug its losses December 3, 2012 THE OWNER of the Guardian newspaper is in talks over a sale of its stake in the parent company of Auto Trader, in a bid to prop up its lossmaking papers. Guardian Media Group (GMG) could sell its 50 per cent share in Trader Media Group (TMG) to TMG’s joint owner, the private equity firm [...]
Mortgage firm should use new ambitions to fund core activity December 3, 2012 SO, it looks like even the buy-to-let cash cow isn’t enough to satisfy FTSE 250 success story Paragon anymore. Paragon’s share price has been mirroring the rental market recently. Rents soared to yet another record high last month, with the average London tenant paying £1,102 a month according to LSL, while mortgage provider Paragon’s shares [...]
Hedge funds’ employee cost overheads differ by thousands December 3, 2012 HEDGE fund overhead costs for individual employees differed by thousands of pounds between firms last year, with some funds spending up to £10,000 a day on each employee, research shows. Research obtained from Hedge Forensics shows the most cost-conscious UK hedge fund has managed to cut its overhead costs down to as little as 50p [...]
Moody’s fears Commerzbank’s new direction could be a flop December 3, 2012 GERMAN lender Commerzbank is taking major risks in pushing into the small business market and by competing aggressively on price, according to credit ratings agency Moody’s. The bank is investing €2bn (£1.6bn) on updating its IT and processes, while it slashes fees and rates to attract more business in the small business sector. The plan [...]
